This invention relates generally to contact lenses and more specifically to a contact lens which is light reflective, so that the iris is not visible through the lens. In a preferred embodiment, the lens is of a mirrored or silvery appearance. In an alternate embodiment, the lens will reduce the glare, ultraviolet and infrared light which enters the eye. This invention can be used by persons who both do and do not wear contact lenses to correct vision.
Contact lenses are known in the art. Hard contact lenses were first produced in 1948, and the lens material is polymethyl methacrylate, a hard plastic. While these lenses are effective, they are hard to fit, irritating to the eye, and can only be worn for a limited number of hours.
Soft contact lenses were first marketed in the United States in 1971. They consist of a polymeric lens material which is both hydrophylic and oxygen permeable. Because of these properties, soft contact lenses are easier to fit, more comfortable, and can be worn on a more irregular basis as compared to hard contact lenses. Furthermore, improvements in contact lens technology now allows for gas permeable and extended wear lenses. Hard lenses are still used, however, because they have a stronger corrective ability, are less expensive, and are less prone to damage.
Contact lenses have enjoyed enormous economic success. The current wearer population is estimated at 14 million, with another 40 to 50 million candidates. By 1990, there are expected to be between 45 to 90 million contact lens wearers, with annual sales of contacts in excess of one billion dollars.
Recently, several manufacturers have begun marketing tinted contact lenses. The contact lenses are tinted by using numerous techniques known in the art, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,468,229; 4,460,523; 4,355,135; 4,252,421; 4,157,892; 3,962,505; 3,679,504 and 2,524,811; all of which are incorporated here by reference. The lenses are colored in natural shades of blue, green, light brown and violet, and one type of lens is tinted either to cover the iris and the pupil or only the iris. The tinting of the lenses is for cosmetic reasons or for convenience, i.e., it is easier to find a colored lens if it is dropped. However, only a tinting, i.e., translucent coloring is used, and the wearer's iris is visible through the lens.
A new market has recently emerged for tinted plano contact lenses. A plano contact lens is a contact lens which is not designed to correct eyesight. The use of this type of lens is purely cosmetic. A person with blue eyes who wishes to have brown eyes merely has to wear brown tinted plano contact lenses. Again, however, only a tinting is used, and the iris is visible through the lens.
A major problem with tinted lenses now on the market is that they do not filter out bright light, glare, infrared light or ultraviolet light. As described above, these lenses are tinted for cosmetic or convenience purposes only. Therefore, a light sensitive person or a person in bright light, such as sunlight, must wear sunglasses. This defeats the purpose of wearing contact lenses, since they are designed to eliminate the necessity of using any type of eyeglasses in the first instance.
A second major problem with tinted lenses is that the wearer's iris is still visible through the lens. This also limits the cosmetic applications of the lens.
A third major problem is that the lenses are tinted only. They do not incorporate a light reflective substance additive, either to filter out bright light, such as sunlight, or for cosmetic purposes, wherein the wearer's iris is not visible through the lens.